Realtime help electrical in mexico (1 Viewer)

[Manuelsv]

Hi Everyone.
I went off on vacation to Mexico, headed from PHX to Vallarta and now I am stuck in a small town in Sonora called CD Obregon-.. Luckily I have some family here. !
The Simptoms...
I have a sears PM1 with 205 min reserve. Alternator never been changed 240K mi on the odo.. I have owned it since it had 190K
Spent 2 nights on the beach in San Carlos camping out with lights, music, and a Koolatron running.. Also had to winch out a stuck Expedition. The cruiser started just fine and we got back on the hwy heading south.. Out in the middle of nowhere with abut 100KM I think thats 60mi from the next town alternator discharge red light came on the dash! So I pulled over and verified the belts where still there.. all looked good so I crossed my fingers turned off all possible electrical items and limped it the 60 miles ...
Got the the town and parked it.. This morning.. I tried to turn it on.. and it would crank, normally actually quite strong as usual, but would not start.. Also could not get it to go to neutral to tow it to the mechanic.. So I put it in neutral on the 4wd lever,,, then it started.. This could just be a chance or coincidence... but anyhow... .Drove it to the Auto electric shop and once there I sut it off.. And it would not start again even though it cranked strong.. !!! Again I tried to put it in Neutral and it would not move the selector.. again on 4wd neutral and nothing no start but strong cranking..
So I am assuming the Alternator is gone.. Battery seems to be doing good.. showing 12v middle of the charge gage.. But evern witha dead alternator .. It should start with a charged battery!! NO
Am I possibly looking at something worse than just the alternator... I also found a shop in town that can rewind the alternator for 450 Pesos.. Bout $40 Bucks.. Any advice is welcome since I am stuck in the middle of nowhere Sonora Mexico!! Also hoping if I need some parts from stateside.. Maybe someone can lend me a hand.. But as of yet I have not identified anythin that is needed untill I take the alternator to the shop..
Thanks guys!

 

[murf]

Tell me if you turn the key to the "on" position (prior to starting) does your check engine light illuminate or not?

 

[Manuelsv]

hEADED TO THE SHOP.. I will check about the engine light..
I also just downloaded the Torque app.. so I am going to useit with the buetooth OBDII scanner and see if any codes show.

 

[TORTUS]

Check fuses in the box on the drivers side of the engine bay. I had this happen half way up Crown King at night to rescue a broke down friend. Mine was due to a short with my dual batt setup, I had a solenoid fail and short to ground. Probably not the case for you so I'll skip those details. I would start by checking the 7.5 amp "charge" fuse. That being blown is what illuminated the beautiful red light on my dash. Not sure if the others do the same but check them too. If its blown, start searching for a short, chaffed wire, bad fusible link.

 

[TORTUS]

Also check the EFI fuse in that box. Could be the reason for the crank but no start. Have you used an "add a fuse" in either of those locations? If so remove it and replace fuse with correct size.

 

[murf]

Also check the EFI fuse in that box. Could be the reason for the crank but no start. Have you used an "add a fuse" in either of those locations? If so remove it and replace fuse with correct size.

Yep! If you get no chk engine light, it is most likely the EFI fuse and relay. Mr Toyota really shouldve put larger guage wire running from the EFI fuse to relay to alternator.

Heavy usage like you mentioned may have overheated the light guage wire and caused issues with the EFI fuse & relay. Doesnt sound like the alternator at all.

The fuse and relay should get you back to Phx. You should then get the wiring mentioned above swapped out to a thicker guage to better handle the high draws and related heat.

Good luck~

 

[Tools R Us]

Check fuses in the box on the drivers side of the engine bay. I had this happen half way up Crown King at night to rescue a broke down friend. Mine was due to a short with my dual batt setup, I had a solenoid fail and short to ground. Probably not the case for you so I'll skip those details. I would start by checking the 7.5 amp "charge" fuse. That being blown is what illuminated the beautiful red light on my dash. Not sure if the others do the same but check them too. If its blown, start searching for a short, chaffed wire, bad fusible link.

Agree, check the fusible link by firmly pulling on each one. They should be solid, if one is stretchy or pulls in half it is burned/broken. It can be spliced to get you back to the states. They tend to crack from vibration, especially if the wrong battery has been installed and they are stretched to fit. Good idea to replace after a few years and carry a spare, they are cheep.

 

[Manuelsv]

Agree, check the fusible link by firmly pulling on each one. They should be solid, if one is stretchy or pulls in half it is burned/broken. It can be spliced to get you back to the states. They tend to crack from vibration, especially if the wrong battery has been installed and they are stretched to fit. Good idea to replace after a few years and carry a spare, they are cheep.

Yep no check engine light... I am headed back to check the fusable links.. EFI) Relay... etc.. as mentioned above.. Got no WIFI there.. so I am back and forth to the shop.. They also said it does not look like the Alternator.. they have it out and are looking and cleanting all contacts etc.. So Most likely going to be the link and the small gage wire mentioned.. Also the battery was a tight fit.. so the cables are likey stretched!

 

[SiRaDuDe]

Have you checked your other THREAD?

https://forum.ih8mud.com/80-series-tech/598704-realtime-help-electrical-mexico.html

A lot of Diagrams and info have been posted up there!

 

[Manuelsv]

Spent all day chasing doown every electrical connection and looking everywhere.. The alternator etc... we ended up disasembling the alternator.. it looked good and tested good.. battery ok.. Ended upo as the wisdom on this forum the connection on the fusible link !!!! We tested it a few times for continuity.. and it was ok.. then we moved it arround and it was burnt.. but it would test ok for continuity when we moved it.. so it was shorting on off... So we re'made the fusable link wires.. and it was good.. Spent all day in a dirty electro Mecanico shop in 110F weather .. but Tomorrow the vacations continue !!!! We where going nuts trying to figure it out untill I ninsted on testing and re'testing the fusable link.. and finally even though it was not obuious it ended up being the culprit.. Thanks to this forum... I probably savced myself a day or two trying to figure it out... Ih8Mud ROCKS.. !!! tHANK YOU ALL FOR THE HELP!!! BTW for those that I crious it cost me... about $45 for all day at the shop! Now where is the nearest cantina
Sorry for the mispelling I am typing on a EspÑol keyboard at the hotel !!!

 

[BrotherRob]

Doesn't espanol use the same letters?

 

[TORTUS]

Glad to hear you found it! Hopefully you've already thought of this, but the wires you "remade" are no longer fusible, (unless high amperage applied, depending on wire gauge). You have a temporary fix that should get you back to the U.S. you don't want whatever caused the links to fail happen again and cause further problems up the line, they are there for a reason. Replace as soon as you can and enjoy the rest of your trip!!

 

[Tools R Us]

Glad to hear you found it! Hopefully you've already thought of this, but the wires you "remade" are no longer fusible, (unless high amperage applied, depending on wire gauge). You have a temporary fix that should get you back to the U.S. you don't want whatever caused the links to fail happen again and cause further problems up the line, they are there for a reason. Replace as soon as you can and enjoy the rest of your trip!!

My guess; it has the wrong battery, the fusible wires were tight, the fusible wire is relatively brittle, so when stressed they crack. When this happens, they contact enough for a good voltage/continuity reading but not enough to deliver full currant to run the system. Have seen it several times on the trail, always with bling batteries. The easy check, pull on them, if good you will not be able to pull them apart, if one separates, it was bad.

 

[gotmud]

Doesn't espanol use the same letters?

Actually no, the keyboard is arranged a little differently. Frustrating as all hell when your're trying to type in a hurry!

 

[azrider]

what?, no pics of the trip?!!!?